Cups
by Luna Darkside
Summary: Sometimes Shinichi wondered if Kaito actually loved him. /established ShinKai & KaiShin, oneshot, complete/


_Yes. _

_It's yet another oneshot._

_You know what? I think I'm going to officially put _Gem of a Person _and _A Sonata and a Smile _on hold. Because it's getting pretty obvious that nothing's going to happen with my chapter fics. So sorry to any of my readers who were waiting for updates on those._

_But anyway, this is just a little bit of established Shinichi x Kaito flangst. I usually don't write established fics because I prefer doki-doki confessions, blushing, general awkwardness, etc., but this was inspired by my own laziness and I thought it might be… cute…ish?_

…_Okay, enough talk. Time to read. Enjoy! – Luna_

** Cups**

Sometimes Shinichi wondered if Kaito actually loved him.

When Shinichi was sitting by himself in the Kudou family library, scalding his tongue on hot coffee and reading Sherlock Holmes and Kaito stumbled in crooked and grinning, fresh from a heist, it wasn't hard to believe it.

It wasn't hard to believe it when Kaito advanced on him, smiling that cheerful, magical smile and whispering his name in that certain way that somehow made Shinichi decide being in love wasn't so bad.

It wasn't hard to believe it when Shinichi was standing in the kitchen, puzzling over how exactly one went around baking a birthday cake, and Kaito skipped in, completely ruining the surprise to Shinichi's horror. It wasn't hard to believe it when Kaito blinked in surprise, jaw dropping as a blush spread across his face, right before he tackled Shinichi and thanked him profusely.

But it was hard to believe it when Shinichi didn't see Kaito for weeks, stuck working a case with the police while Kaito was off doing whatever he did in his free time. It was hard to believe it when Kaito didn't call or text during those weeks, and Shinichi was left checking his phone every ten minutes, waiting for a message that never came.

It was hard to believe it when Kaito flirted with their waitress at Poirot, giving her a rose all bright-eyed and charming and making her blush and giggle in that girly way Shinichi knew he could never even attempt to emanate. It was hard to believe it when Kaito glanced over at Shinichi and obliviously asked, "What's wrong?" as if it wasn't obvious that Shinichi's chest was tight with jealousy and despondency.

It was hard to believe it when Kaito waved him off in irritation when Shinichi, concerned, tried to help him with the injuries he'd gotten at his heist, where he'd been targeted by a sniper. It was hard to believe it when Kaito gave only a sharp, "Don't bother," and stormed off in a slam of doors and dismissal, leaving Shinichi standing waist-high in anxiety and dejectedness.

Shinichi sighed, shutting his eyes before closing the book lying open across his lap. It was quite obvious he wasn't going to get any reading done with the thoughts circulating his head in a useless mess, and he was getting rather tired. Glancing at the clock hanging sleepily by the window, he rose and headed for the kitchen to get a glass of water before going to bed. Shinichi absolutely hated waking up in the middle of the night thirsty and having to walk back downstairs to get something to drink.

As he held the cup beneath the spigot, a thought suddenly occurred to him. When had he taken his cups from earlier nights back downstairs? He didn't remember doing such a thing, and this morning when he'd woken up, he was fairly certain the cups had been gone.

Wondering what had happened to them, how long this had been going on, and why he hadn't noticed this phenomenon earlier, Shinichi decided to file the question away for tomorrow, when he was slightly less depressed and his brain was a little less muddled.

* * *

Shinichi woke to the scent of freshly made coffee wafting up the stairs to his room, accompanied by the sound of footsteps approaching. Sitting up and gripping his head, Shinichi looked over at the door just as it opened and Kaito beamed luminously at him.

"Hey there," he greeted, and Shinichi managed a drowsy nod and matching smile. It wasn't an unusual occurrence that Kaito would pay him a morning visit – he'd been doing it since they'd been together.

Kaito laughed. "I'll be downstairs with coffee. Go take a shower."

"Uh-huh. Thank you." Shinichi staggered after Kaito down the hall, and Kaito graciously opened the bathroom door for him.

Sending him a look that meant both _thanks _and _I love you_, Shinichi stumbled into the bathroom and stripped before hopping into the shower, yawning.

Ten minutes under the gentle caress of the water passed, and there was a light knock on the door before it opened briefly. "Hey, Shinichi, I brought you a towel and some clothes," came Kaito's voice above the roar of the shower before the door closed again.

"Thanks, Kaito," Shinichi called back, shutting off the water and stepping out to find a neatly folded towel and a t-shirt and jeans waiting. He inwardly smiled before wrapping the towel around his torso.

He froze in confusion as the towel touched his skin, glancing down with a wrinkled brow. Was it just him, or was the towel… warm? As if someone had gone through the trouble of warming it up in the dryer.

Had Kaito…?

Intrigued and somewhat mystified, Shinichi finished drying himself off and slipped into the clothes before leaving for the kitchen.

He found Kaito standing in the kitchen, washing something in the sink. "You're done?" he asked, and Shinichi nodded. Pointing a sudsy finger at the kitchen table, Kaito smirked at Shinichi.

"Coffee," he said simply, and Shinichi immediately understood what he meant upon seeing the white porcelain mug sitting on the table.

"Thanks," Shinichi smiled before sitting down and watching Kaito continued cleaning whatever he was. Bringing the coffee cup to his lips, Shinichi mulled over the mystery of the towel as he drank. Kaito wasn't the kind to specially warm up a towel for him, was he? Shinichi sure hadn't pegged him as that kind of ridiculously sweet romantic, at least. He had always seemed like the teasing, flirty sort of prankster...

Shinichi was drinking air before he realized it, having drained the cup within seconds. He sighed, staring down at the flat white bottom of the mug.

Suddenly yet another realization hit Shinichi. He glanced over at Kaito, who was finishing up whatever he was doing. Kaito wasn't a coffee drinker – making coffee held no benefit for him. Shinichi also realized that his coffee had been made just the way he liked it – extra strong with just a large ratio of coffee to cream that was just about impossible to get perfect. Yet hadn't he just drank a perfect cup of coffee? He hadn't found anything wrong with it, otherwise he wouldn't have drunken it so quickly.

And Kaito had made his coffee. The man had to be seriously observant and purposeful to get the amount of cream right.

Brow furrowing, Shinichi unconsciously looked over at Kaito to find that he was carefully drying a glass, having just finished washing it.

It was the water glass that Shinichi had taken upstairs the night before.

Shinichi stared, open-mouthed, for a long second, before a smile overtook his face.

Feeling Shinichi's eyes on him, Kaito peered over at him, setting down the glass. "What's up?" he asked self-consciously. "Do I have something on my face?"

Shaking his head, Shinichi only grinned. "No."

He was loved after all.

* * *

**I would've tried to include Kaito's reasons for doing the things that made Shinichi doubt whether he loved him, but 1) I was too lazy to find an appropriate place to do so and 2) I think it's more fun for the readers to use their imaginations :D. If you're anything like me, you'll be able to figure it out with no problem.**

**Anyway, yeah. Flangst. It's fun for all of us. Or at least me.**

**On an unrelated note: I'm considering this other fic idea I've literally had since I started writing fan fiction, and while I could do it on my own, I want your input. So if you could review and tell me your favorite anime/manga/fandoms apart from DC/MK, that would be fantastic.**

**- Luna**


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